Bag-like receptacle for tobacco products



June 1, 1937. B. MIDULLA LIKE RECEPTACLE FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS BAG- FiledAug. 6, 1936 Patented June 1, 1937 UNITED STATES BAG-LIKE RECEPTAOLE FORTOBACCO PRODUCTS Biagio Midulla, New York, N. Y. Application August 6,1936, Serial No. 94,678

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in receptacles, and in particularto that special type constituting wrappers for cigars or the liketobacco products.

It has become the custom at the present time to individually wrap orenclose cigars. or similar tobacco products, preliminary to thedissemination and sale thereof for a number of reasons, among which maybe mentioned that such wrappings maintain the sanitary condition of theproducts, facilitate the application or protection of bands, and aboveall prevent breakage of the outer tobacco wrappers and preserve themoisture contained in the tobacco.

Heretofore such wrapper envelopes have been made of paper, but this hasbeen more or less universally displaced by the well known transparentand moisture-proof material called in the trade Cellophane. Thismaterial or its equivalent, due to its toughness and moisture-proofcharacteristics, 'is admirably suited to the purpose, but, at the sametime, it possesses a very undesirable feature which detracts from itsusefulness. Wrapper pouches or receptacles made from this material havea very sharp and tough cutting edge, and in the introduction of thecigar into the mouth of the receptacle,,the edges of said mouth veryoften cut the tobacco wrapper at one or more places, necessitatingrepair or entire replacement of the tobacco wrapper.

I have found from experience in the hand filling of these receptacles,more or less generally practiced at this time, even with the exercise ofreasonable care, that as much as twenty-five per cent. of the packagingis damaged by this cutting edge, resulting in material loss of time andlabor and increase in expense.

This difliculty has led to the wrapping of cigars by rolling thematerial in sheet form around the cigar and then folding or twisting theends of the material to close the wrapper, which method of wrapping ismuch less satisfactory as it requires additional operations andhandling, and 'does not afford as good a seal or closure at' the ends.

The solution of this troublesome problem 'is the objective of my presentinvention, and has been definitely solved by me in. a simple mannerwithout material increase in the cost of the wrapper by the folding.,rolling or other treatment of the mouth edge of the wrapper pouch insuch a manner as to present a smooth, non-cutting edge which not onlyeliminates the undesired cutting action, but materially facilitates theopen-. ation of introducing the cigar into the receptacle -by holdingthe mouth in more stable open position,

enabling reduction in the size of the receptacle to more closely hug thearticle as desired, and reenforcing the mouth against tearing in theoperation of filling the receptacle, or breaking open the side seal ofthe wrapper.

To this end, my invention consists in folding or rolling back thematerial at the edge of the mouth of the receptacle or applying theretoa protective strip, so as to form a smooth, round, or non-cutting edge,or, alternatively providing a split, expa'nsible mouth, suitablyreenforced, to

' present a smooth entrance.

In the drawing, W Figure 1 is a perspective view of a receptacleconstructed in accordance with my invention and showing the partialintroduction of a cigar into the receptacle.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the upper end of the receptacleshowing the mouth portion folded ,in closed position to seal the tobaccoproduct therein.

Figure 3 is a view of the receptacle in flat, folded conditionpreliminary to the filling of th same. I

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing one method of treatingthe edges of the mouth of the receptacle to provide a smooth,non-cutting edge. 4

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the mouth of a receptacleshowing the rolling back of the edge to provide a smooth, reenforcedmouth.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional. view showing the edge of thematerial at the mouth folded inwardly upon itself.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the mouth of the receptacleshowing the application of a protector strip to the edge to provide asmooth, non-cutting rim. 7

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in theseveralflgures of the drawing. s

Referring to the drawing, it is to be understood that the receptacleforming the subject matter of this invention is of that type whichis-baglike in form and collapsible, similar to the ordinary paper bag,by bending or folding in the opposite sides thereof in a well knownmanner. The material of which the receptacle is made, as hereinbeforepremised. is preferably Cellophane, 'or similar cellulosic product,because of the moisture-proof characteristics-and transparency, andthe'toughness of such material which give rise to an attractive wrapperfor tobacco products, like cigars. These bag-like.receptacles may be hadin various forms on the market at the present time, and have usually oneend thereof closed by the folding over of the material and-applying tothe fold a solvent or other adhesive so as to effectively provide asealed closure which will offer resistance'to the movement of the cigarout of this end. This closed end in the construction of my receptacle,in certain forms thereof particularly, need not be permanently sealed,because of the desirability of displacing the cigar through thispreliminarily closed end.

In the drawing, l'designates the bag-like receptacle above referred tohaving the closed end 2 with its sealed fold 3. The upper portion ormouth of the receptacle is folded back outwardly upon itself, as shownboth in Figures 1 and 4, to provide a relatively narrow flange orreenforcement 4. This rebending of the material may readily beaccomplished where the material is thin by simply turning back the mouthedge, but where the material of the bag is somewhat thicker, it is onlynecessary to slit the mouth slightly to enable the edge to be turnedback and folded upon itself, as in this particular form. This refoldperforms two important functions, in that it provides a smooth, round,non-cutting edge 5 thatwill readily slide over the cigar tobacco wrapperwithout tending to catch in said wrapper, and, secondly, in that itprovides a reenforcing band extending about the mouth. Suchreenforcement stifiens the material at the mouth and tends to hold it inthe open position sufliciently to introduce the point of the cigar inthe manner shown in Figure 1. The doubling of the material in thismanner at-the mouth reduces its flexibility and hence the edges of themouth will not have the same tendency to bend inwardly and catch on theedge of the tobacco wrappers. When the cigar has been shoved homeagainst the closed end of the bag, the mouth may then be bent laterallyto provide a closure flap 6, as shown in Figure 2. This flap may besealed, if desired, by the use of solvent, glue, or by the applicationof pressure by means of die members so as to crinkle the enclosed end,in a manner at the present time practiced, especially with respect tothe bottom closure of these receptacles. Instead of folding back thematerial of the mouth as in Figure 4, said material may be turnedinwardly, as shown in Figure '7, at I. This arrangement will serve toprovide an equally smooth edge at the mouth, but in this form it ispreferred that the cigar be ejected through the bottom end of the bagwhich would, under such conditions, 'be preferably left unglued for thispurpose.

It will be understood that the material may be folded back as describedto provide either a relatively wide or a relatively narrow flange orreenforcement, and I do not wish to be restricted in this respect. 7

In Figure 5, I have shown the material at the edge of the mouth rolledback to provide a roll or ring reenforcement 9, and, as in respect tothe preferred form, this rolling or turning back of the material may bedone inwardly as well as outwardly.

In Figure 7 is shown a still further modification of my invention whichwill accomplish the same objective of providing a smooth, round edge tothe mouth. In this case, I apply to the mouth of the bag a folded stripl0, preferably composed of the same material as the body of the bag, andpreferably extending a sufiicient distance to provide a reenforcing bandin which the mouth lies between the folded sides of the strip. This bandmay be of different colors to provide distinctiveness or identity, andthe band may be attached to the mouth of the bag in any desired manner,such as by gluing or otherwise causing the folds to adhere to thematerial of the bag.

In all of these forms, the edgeof the mouth is reenforced and made topresent a smooth, noncutting edge for the purposes herein referred to.

In all cases, my method of treatment of the mouth of the receptaclereenforces it at this point and tends to prevent any bursting of theside sealing seam.

It will be understood that the bag may be' made in any size orproportion to accommodate the particular object to be wrapped, and Ihave found that by reason of the construction of the mouth in the mannerhereinbefore described these receptacles may be made to more snugly fitthe cigar, thereby effecting a saving in material and expense.

What is claimed is:-

l. A wrapper for a cigar having one end closed and its other end open toform a mouth through which the cigar is introduced longitudinally, theentrance portion of the wrapper being provided with a reinforcedrounded, non-cutting portion.

-2. A wrapper for a cigar having one open end, said end being turnedback to present a smooth, non-cutting mouth edge.

3. A wrapper for a cigar comprising a holder formed of cellulosicmaterial having one end closed and one end open, the cellulosic materialat the open end being folded upon itself to form a non-cuttingsubstantially rounded edge, the free portion thereof being in closelyabutting relation to the adjacent body portion of the wrapper, therebyreducing to a minimum separation of the folded portion from the mainportion of the wrapper.

BIAGIO MIDULLA.

